Zdravo !
How crappy can holidays get?
Let me give you a quick overview of my first day in Serbia:
- it's been raining buckets for the whole day
- but I am brave, and reasonably well equipped, so the weather won't stop me, I decide to go for a walk in Belgrad. A few minutes after I left the hostel, my foot bumps into a tiny something on the pavement, and I produce my most impressive fall ever, ruining my 2 knees, my 2 hands, and even the left cheek. Don't ask my how I manage to do this, I don't have any clue, and unfortunately there is no video we could replay. I had never been hit on the cheekbone, but now I understand why Pretty Woman says that it hurts like hell. Current situation, 10 hours after: I can hardly bend the left leg, the right hand really hurts, and my face give the feeling that I have been beaten up
- the only good point of the day: I got a Skoda Fabia as a rental car, which is definitely my first choice
- after arriving in Novi Sad, I spent about an hour and a half to find where to park my sweet little Fabia, as most of the parks are limited to 2 hours, and I wanted to leave it until tomorrow noon.
- when I found the perfect car park, new problem: how on earth do you pay for it? The only solution seems to be by SMS, and it won't work for foreign phones. Then I get a little bit luckier, and find 2 lovely girls who will send the SMS for me (and won't even accept that I give them the one euro for the payment)
- then next problem is to find the hostel, located in a tiny alley. 20 minutes later (all of this still under the rain), I learn that the ######### hostel (Lazin Hostel, for the record) closed on September 1st, whereas I double checked my reservation just 2 days ago. It is now 18:00, and I need to find a hotel if I don't want to spend the night in the car.
- the first hotel I find, after walking about 10 minutes is full
- but the one in front has vacancies. Phew...
- you could think that this is where the troubles stop for today but... I mention at some point my problem about paying the car park to the employee at the reception (it is paid for today, but I will have to pay again tomorrow), and he tells me that the hotel has its own garage, and that I can retrieve my car, and he will open the door for me in 5 minutes. At this point of the day, I am not very enthusiastic about making any further movement, but he insists, so I go back to the car, drive 5-10 minutes to the hotel (the center of the city is almost fully blocked with road works), and get to a closed garage door. After waiting a couple of minutes for him to open, cars are honking behind me, I give up and decide to go back to the initial car park. Which is now full, I only have a tiny space left, it will take me 10 more minutes to enter it.
Honestly, at this stage, I am seriously thinking about heading to the airport first thing tomorrow morning, and flying back home...
jeudi 21 septembre 2017
mardi 19 septembre 2017
Zimbabwe
One more border is crossed, and here we are in Zimbabwe, along the Zambezi river, close to Victoria Falls. During a cruise on the river, we get a chance to see Mister and Madam Elephant have a good time (they usually do it in the water because it helps relieving the weight).
The falls are listed as one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the world. While it is neither the highest nor the widest waterfall in the world, Victoria Falls is classified as the largest, based on its combined width of 1,708 metres and height of 108 metres, resulting in the world's largest sheet of falling water. Victoria Falls is roughly twice the height of North America's Niagara Falls. In height and width Victoria Falls is rivalled only by Argentina and Brazil's Iguazu Falls.
Nowadays, the local currency is indexed on the US dollar but a few years ago inflation was raging, and prices reached such a level that you can still find 5 or 10 billion dollars bank notes.
After a last attack by mongooses and vervets, it is time to fly back home. Those 3 weeks flew as fast as a finger snap, but this is a trip none of us will forget. Thank you to my comrades for making me laugh so hard that my abs hurt most of the evenings, take care!
The falls are listed as one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the world. While it is neither the highest nor the widest waterfall in the world, Victoria Falls is classified as the largest, based on its combined width of 1,708 metres and height of 108 metres, resulting in the world's largest sheet of falling water. Victoria Falls is roughly twice the height of North America's Niagara Falls. In height and width Victoria Falls is rivalled only by Argentina and Brazil's Iguazu Falls.
Nowadays, the local currency is indexed on the US dollar but a few years ago inflation was raging, and prices reached such a level that you can still find 5 or 10 billion dollars bank notes.
After a last attack by mongooses and vervets, it is time to fly back home. Those 3 weeks flew as fast as a finger snap, but this is a trip none of us will forget. Thank you to my comrades for making me laugh so hard that my abs hurt most of the evenings, take care!
Botswana - Chobe National Park
When you sleep close to the Chobe river, no need to go very far to see animals, you can be sure that the campground is going to be invaded by all sorts of animals (beware of the vervets, they can attack, even if you don't look for trouble!).
Come on, you stupid warthog, the fact that mongooses can slip under the fence does not mean that you can do it too!
Come on, you stupid warthog, the fact that mongooses can slip under the fence does not mean that you can do it too!
Namibia (2)
Before starting the walk in order to discover the cave paintings and the geological attractions of Sptizkoppe, just a few minutes of rest...
On the following day, we stop at what is supposed to be a Himba village, but looks a lot more like a tourist trap. We are going to spend a nice moment with the children, but will be disappointed, from a general point of view...
First hours in the Etosha National Park game reserve, where all the animals gather around the few remaining water holes.
The water hole below was set up on the edges of the campground (behind a wall and barbed wire), and is lighten up at night, so that you can spend the whole night watching elephants, lions, rhinos, giraffes and so on come and go.
Some of the animals even manage to enter the campground and visit us at dinner or breakfast time:
The Etosha Pan is a 120 km long salt pan, which is mostly dry but after a heavy rain it will acquire a thin layer of water, which is heavily salted by the mineral deposits on the surface of the pan, which most of the year is dry mud coated with salt.
On the following day, we stop at what is supposed to be a Himba village, but looks a lot more like a tourist trap. We are going to spend a nice moment with the children, but will be disappointed, from a general point of view...
First hours in the Etosha National Park game reserve, where all the animals gather around the few remaining water holes.
The water hole below was set up on the edges of the campground (behind a wall and barbed wire), and is lighten up at night, so that you can spend the whole night watching elephants, lions, rhinos, giraffes and so on come and go.
Some of the animals even manage to enter the campground and visit us at dinner or breakfast time:
The variety and quantity of animals you can see in the park is just incredible:
The Etosha Pan is a 120 km long salt pan, which is mostly dry but after a heavy rain it will acquire a thin layer of water, which is heavily salted by the mineral deposits on the surface of the pan, which most of the year is dry mud coated with salt.
The last nights in Namibia are going to be spent on the banks of the Okavango River, where we will hear at night and see during the day our first hippos.
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